Question

1. Describe the life cycle of a flowering plant?

Answer 1

Flowering plants -two alternative life cycles as they undergo sexual and asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction- clone of the original plant. Sexual reproduction creates genetic diversity.

The stages of the flower life cycle - seed, germination, growth, reproduction, pollination, and seed spreading stages.

Seed Stage

life cycle starts with a seed. every seed holds a miniature plant called the embryo.two types of flowering plant seeds: dicots and monocots. It has two parts called cotyledons. The cotyledons store food for the plant...monocots have only one cotyledon.Both kinds of seeds have the beginnings of a root system as well. seed coat and it protects the embryo.

Germination

Seeds needs warmth,light, water in order to germinate. After being planted in the soil for a few days, the seed absorbs water and swells until the seed coat splits. The stem, called the hypocotyl, pushes through the soil along with the cotyledons, or seed leaves; this is called germination, or sprouting. The tiny root pushes down and grows, looking for water and nutrients. Soon the cotyledons fall off and the first true leaves emerge....

Growth. As the leaves emerge, they start photosynthesis.The plants store the sugars in the roots and stem. The root system continues to develop, anchoring the plant into the ground and growing root hairs ... The stem grows longer towards the sun.... New leaves grow from the top of the stem, or meristem. After a while, flower buds develop...

Reproduction

Inside the bud, a tiny but complete flower forms. The sepals protect the bud before it opens. Over time, the bud opens and blossoms into a mature flower and the sepals look like little green leaves at the base of the flower.

The female part of the flower is called the pistil and it has four parts-- the stigma, style, ovary, and ovules. The male part of the flower is called the stamen and it consists of the long filament and the anther, where pollen is made. In the center of the flower, there is a long slender tube that ends in a rounded oval. The tube is called the style. On the top of the style is the stigma-its job is to catch pollen. It may be sticky, hairy, or shaped in a way that helps it to better trap pollen. Sometimes several stamens surround the pistil. Once the pollen is trapped it travels down the style to the rounded part at the end, called the ovary, where eggs are waiting to be fertilized. The fertilized eggs become seeds in this stage of the flower life cycle. In fruit producing plants, the ovary ripens and becomes fruit.

Pollination

Some flowers have only male parts, and some have only female parts. In others, the male and female structures are far apart. These plants depend on insects, birds, animals, wind, water, or other pollinators to carry pollen from the male flowers or male parts to the female flowers or female parts.

Spreading Seeds

Seed spreading, or dispersal, is the final stage of the flower life cycle.